Waiting For The Worlds

If you've grown tired of watching former Blue Jackets' excel for other clubs in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the IIHF World Championships might come to your emotional rescue.

Jack Johnson and Cam Atkinson (Team USA), Marc Methot (Team Canada) and Nikita Nikitin (Team Russia) will enjoy a second season, beginning Thursday in Finland. The championship game is set for May 20.

Lots of players find lots of excuses to avoid this tournament. The travel isn't easy. Nor is gearing the engine back up following an 82-game season and a one-month lull. In Europe, this tournament is second only to the Olympics, but it's an afterthought in North America because the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full bloom.

Why go if you're a player?

"Well, for one, I want to win the tournament," Johnson said. "It's a huge tournament. It might not be big in the States, but to all of us who play hockey, it's a big-time tournament.

"The other reason is it's a chance to play for your country. I will always say yes to that, if it's humanly possible for me to play. Every time I get asked to represent the United States, I say yes, because it could be my last time. I don't want to turn it down. I don't have children or other commitments like some of the other guys, but as long as I'm healthy, I'll do it."

Atkinson was, to many, a surprise choice by Team USA. The NHL rookie saidhe was thrilled when, with about two weeks left in the season, he started to hear whispers that he might get an invite.

"I tried not to think about it, and I tried to just finish strong, to do everything I could to make it happen," Atkinson said. "When I got that call (from USA director of hockey operations Jim Johannson) the day after the season ended, I was so excited.

"It's a chance to keep playing. It's a chance to become a better player. But, like everybody says, the biggest thing is it's a chance to put on your country's sweater and represent it. That's an honor."

This isn't Atkinson first taste of international play.He played in the 2008 Ivan Hlinka MemorialTournament for Under-18s before heading off for a three-year run at Boston College.

Methot is playing for Team Canada for a second straight year. Last year was especially meaningful for Methot. It was his first big shot to play for his country on the world stage, and it revealed his statusas an up-and-coming player in a hockey-mad country.

This opportunity is not without meaning, either. Methot missed the final two months of the season after suffering a broken jaw. He lost a ton of weight going a month without solid food, only pureed foodstuffs. Yum.

Now he has a chance to play again before the hockey world closes the books on 2012.

"It's an honor to play for Canada, absolutely," Methot said. "But for me, it's a chance to get back into games again. I'll need those two exhibition games before the tournament starts probably more than the other guys. But it's great. The last thing I wanted to do is show up at training camp (next fall) without having played a game for six months. That's too long a break. This will help soften the blow a little bit."

We'll have more on the Worlds in The Dispatch later this week.

Side dishes:

-- Mentioned in this spot on Saturday how the Blue Jackets signed center Michael Chaput to a three-year, entry-level contract. Failed to mention that he'll play in the Memorial Cup, as his junior club -- Shawinigan -- is the host city. The Memorial Cup is the four-team tournament to decide the champion of the Canadian Hockey League, the governing body of the Ontario, Western and Quebec Major Junior hockey leagues. The winners of each of those leagues make the final field, along with the host city. Often, the host city isn't the hostest with the mostest. In this case, though, Shawinigan is pretty good. The Cataractes (look up that logo) were 45-16-3-4 (97 points) in the Q this year, trailing only Saint John.

-- Beginning this week, Puck-rakers will go player-by-player on the Blue Jackets roster and breakdown their season -- the good, the bad, the ugly, the future, etc. -- and provide player grades. We stole this idea from the Denver Post's Adrian Dater, who became weakened one night over a pot roast sandwich at the TIp Top. Looking forward to hearing what grades you loyal Puck-rakers readers would give the players. We'll keep a pretty good flow of it.

-- Aaron Portzline

aportzline@dispatch.com

twitter: @aportzline

If you've grown tired of watching former Blue Jackets' excel for other clubs in the Stanley Cup playoffs, the IIHF World Championships might come to your emotional rescue.

Jack Johnson and Cam Atkinson (Team USA), Marc Methot (Team Canada) and Nikita Nikitin (Team Russia) will enjoy a second season, beginning Thursday in Finland. The championship game is set for May 20.

Lots of players find lots of excuses to avoid this tournament. The travel isn't easy. Nor is gearing the engine back up following an 82-game season and a one-month lull. In Europe, this tournament is second only to the Olympics, but it's an afterthought in North America because the Stanley Cup playoffs are in full bloom.

Why go if you're a player?

"Well, for one, I want to win the tournament," Johnson said. "It's a huge tournament. It might not be big in the States, but to all of us who play hockey, it's a big-time tournament.

"The other reason is it's a chance to play for your country. I will always say yes to that, if it's humanly possible for me to play. Every time I get asked to represent the United States, I say yes, because it could be my last time. I don't want to turn it down. I don't have children or other commitments like some of the other guys, but as long as I'm healthy, I'll do it."

Atkinson was, to many, a surprise choice by Team USA. The NHL rookie saidhe was thrilled when, with about two weeks left in the season, he started to hear whispers that he might get an invite.

"I tried not to think about it, and I tried to just finish strong, to do everything I could to make it happen," Atkinson said. "When I got that call (from USA director of hockey operations Jim Johannson) the day after the season ended, I was so excited.

"It's a chance to keep playing. It's a chance to become a better player. But, like everybody says, the biggest thing is it's a chance to put on your country's sweater and represent it. That's an honor."

This isn't Atkinson first taste of international play.He played in the 2008 Ivan Hlinka MemorialTournament for Under-18s before heading off for a three-year run at Boston College.

Methot is playing for Team Canada for a second straight year. Last year was especially meaningful for Methot. It was his first big shot to play for his country on the world stage, and it revealed his statusas an up-and-coming player in a hockey-mad country.

This opportunity is not without meaning, either. Methot missed the final two months of the season after suffering a broken jaw. He lost a ton of weight going a month without solid food, only pureed foodstuffs. Yum.

Now he has a chance to play again before the hockey world closes the books on 2012.

"It's an honor to play for Canada, absolutely," Methot said. "But for me, it's a chance to get back into games again. I'll need those two exhibition games before the tournament starts probably more than the other guys. But it's great. The last thing I wanted to do is show up at training camp (next fall) without having played a game for six months. That's too long a break. This will help soften the blow a little bit."

We'll have more on the Worlds in The Dispatch later this week.

Side dishes:

-- Mentioned in this spot on Saturday how the Blue Jackets signed center Michael Chaput to a three-year, entry-level contract. Failed to mention that he'll play in the Memorial Cup, as his junior club -- Shawinigan -- is the host city. The Memorial Cup is the four-team tournament to decide the champion of the Canadian Hockey League, the governing body of the Ontario, Western and Quebec Major Junior hockey leagues. The winners of each of those leagues make the final field, along with the host city. Often, the host city isn't the hostest with the mostest. In this case, though, Shawinigan is pretty good. The Cataractes (look up that logo) were 45-16-3-4 (97 points) in the Q this year, trailing only Saint John.

-- Beginning this week, Puck-rakers will go player-by-player on the Blue Jackets roster and breakdown their season -- the good, the bad, the ugly, the future, etc. -- and provide player grades. We stole this idea from the Denver Post's Adrian Dater, who became weakened one night over a pot roast sandwich at the TIp Top. Looking forward to hearing what grades you loyal Puck-rakers readers would give the players. We'll keep a pretty good flow of it.

-- Aaron Portzline

aportzline@dispatch.com

twitter: @aportzline

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